Indonesia: Military Intelligence Officers Arrested for Acid Attack on Human Rights Activist

Last updated: 5 October 2026

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On March 12, 2026, two men on a motorcycle threw acid at Andrie Yunus, a 27-year-old deputy coordinator of KontraS — Indonesia's Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence — in the Menteng area of Jakarta. Yunus sustained 24 percent burns to his face, chest, and hands, and has possibly lost his right eye. The Indonesian military police subsequently arrested four soldiers from the Indonesian Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) in connection with the attack. Human Rights Watch responded on March 24 by calling on President Prabowo Subianto to establish an independent civilian fact-finding team to investigate.

The Attack and Investigation

Yunus was returning home by motorcycle after recording a podcast interview at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation when two men followed him and threw acid at him. The National Police released CCTV footage showing the attack, and also released more than 2,000 images from 86 cameras showing Yunus had been under surveillance for up to a week beforehand — including at a protest at Jakarta's National Monument Park and at his parents' home in Bogor.

On March 18, the military police arrested four BAIS personnel: a captain, two lieutenants, and a sergeant. However, the initials of those arrested differed from the suspects identified by the national police from CCTV analysis, raising concerns that not all those involved have been accounted for. More than 420 organisations condemned the attack and called for a full independent investigation.

KontraS and the Accountability Problem

Andrie Yunus was an outspoken critic of the Indonesian military, particularly following parliament's passage of amendments to the Armed Forces Law in March 2025 that expanded the military's role in civilian sectors. He had also participated in a report about possible BAIS involvement in arson attacks during nationwide protests in August and September 2025, and had told close friends that he was being threatened and surveilled.

KontraS has a long history of being targeted. In 2001, a bomb was sent to the founding coordinator's home. In 2004, its coordinator Munir Thalib was poisoned on a Garuda Indonesia flight from Singapore to Amsterdam. Two civilians were convicted in that case, but a Jakarta court acquitted a former deputy at the State Intelligence Agency who had been charged with premeditated murder.

Under Indonesian law, the military justice system — not civilian courts — handles crimes by soldiers. HRW noted that this system lacks transparency, independence, and impartiality and "has failed to properly investigate and prosecute alleged serious human rights abuses by military personnel."

HRW's Demands

"The brutal acid attack in downtown Jakarta against a prominent rights activist by alleged military intelligence members raises grave concerns for Indonesia's entire human rights community," said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at HRW. President Prabowo has stated that the attack was "barbaric" and vowed to investigate. HRW called on him to follow through by establishing a presidential fact-finding team independent of the military, and to ensure all perpetrators — regardless of rank — are prosecuted.

Source: Human Rights Watch — Indonesia: Acid Attack Against Rights Activist (March 24, 2026)